Subregionals coming to S.A. in 2014

Updated 6:34 am, Tuesday, November 13, 2012

NCAA men's basketball tournament games will be returning to San Antonio in 2014 in a different form and venue than before.

Second- and third-round games will be coming to the AT&T Center on March 21 and 23, 2014. It will be the first time the city has hosted men's subregional games and also the first time the Spurs' home building has been used for men's tournament events.

“Any time you get the opportunity to host an event gives you the chance to show off your city,” said UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey, whose school will serve as the event's host. “It's great to be back in the lineup with the NCAA.”

San Antonio will be a part of a rotation of 16 cities that will host sub-regionals and eight more that will stage regionals in 2014 and 2015.

“San Antonio has been and will continue to be a destination choice in terms of fan enjoyment, media enjoyment, ambience and experience,” NCAA spokesman David Worlock said. “It's proven to be a great tournament host and now will get a different chance at hosting games in the second and third rounds.”

Playing at the AT&T Center will provide one big change for spectators. San Antonio always has been extremely popular because of the Alamdome's proximity to the River Walk, downtown hotels and attractions.

The San Antonio games now will be played in an intimate, basketball-friendly building but will be removed from most of S.A.'s tourist attractions.

“It's not a concern,” Worlock said. “People will come and go to the games, grab a bite to eat, and then they'll go to the River Walk because that's where people go.”

It also will provide some new logistical challenges that San Antonio never has faced because of the nature of the subregionals with four games — two doubleheaders — on the first day before two games determining two teams advancing to the regionals two days later.

Some of these early tournament games have not drawn well in other cities. The NCAA instituted a controversial pod system which rewarded higher-ranked teams with early games closer to their home areas to help boost attendance.

“Attendance will always be a concern (for the subregionals), and we want them to be as close as possible to crowds that coaches and players are familiar with because it creates a better environment,” Worlock said. “We want those crowds to be strong.”

San Antonio Sports Foundation executive director Susan Blackwood said that local officials and the NCAA have been involved in some frank discussions about San Antonio's hopes to get back into the rotation of hosting Final Fours. The city was left out of the most recent bidding cycle when the latest round of Final Fours was awarded in 2008.

The stakes have risen immensely as San Antonio and the Alamodome attempt to compete against cities with newer facilities that have more bells and whistles such as Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and Reliant Stadium in Houston.

“We're looking at the building and what we can do to accommodate them in our building,” Blackwood said. “Is that (finishing) out the facility and having all the suites? Yes. Is that less congestion on the concourses? Yes. We've done a feasibility study to see what we need to do.”

Blackwood is hoping that strong support for the 2014 games will impress the NCAA enough to bring back future tournament games.

“I think we can build on it,” Blackwood said. “You can't talk to any coach or fan who doesn't say that San Antonio isn't one of their favorite places. We hope that the NCAA is open to listening to that.”